Gymnasts amaze their coaches

It’s the end of the season for another group of young athletes in the competitive program at the Brockville Gymnastics Academy.

Darah Barkley, Lia Leblanc, Isabel Mooney and Dani Preston took part in the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Provincial Championships for level 6 in Dorchester, which is near London, on April 13-14. Participants competed in vault, bars, beam and floor.

Leblanc, 13, returned from the provincials with a gold medal in vault and Mooney, 13, picked up a bronze in vault. Preston, 15, finished ninth all-around.

Among the highlights from four competitions earlier in the season, Mooney was first all-around at the Pickering meet in mid-December and at both Orleans meets in January and February, and placed fourth all-around at the Smiths Falls competition in early February. Barkley, 14, placed first all-around at the opening meet in Orleans, second overall in Smiths Falls and third all-around at the second Orleans competition. She missed Pickering due to injury.

Leblanc had a first and two seconds in the floor event in Orleans and Pickering as well as two thirds in beam and vault at the second Orleans meet. Preston placed first and third all-around at the Orleans meets and earned gold in four individual events at the Orleans and Pickering competitions.

Taylor Cooper, the academy’s competitive co-ordinator, referred to the girls as a great group of athletes.

“They are all very dedicated, hardly miss practice and when they are in the gym they are always working their hardest,” stated Cooper, who added the girls serve as role models and leaders and show positive attitudes in the gym. “They face challenges head on, battling through mental blocks and injuries and amaze us each and every day.”

All four of the girls indicated they were introduced to gymnastics at the age of two or three. “I hated splits,” remarked Leblanc. “I remember it being really fun, too.”

Preston recalled being a younger gymnast and watching all of the older girls.

“It’s a lot of motivation,” she said, acknowledging that she and her level 6 teammates are now being looked up to as role models. Some are also starting to develop their own coaching skills by working with the younger girls.

“I grew up with it and loved it,” Preston added.

That love for the sport is evident in all of the older gymnasts, according to Cooper.

“They are always looking for corrections and ways to improve,” she said.

Following their provincials, the level 6 gymnasts will have a bit of a down time in training for the rest of spring; training will ramp up in the summer. The provincials for gymnasts in levels 3, 4 and 5 will take place in the first half of June.

The Brockville academy, which is located on Gilmour Street beside Rotary Park, has about 45 competitive gymnasts between the ages of five and 16. Training is year-round, and there are several qualified coaches to guide the young athletes; competitive seasons usually run from September through mid- to late spring.

The non-profit organization also offers a recreational and a pre-competitive program as well as private lessons and a summer camp. For more information, visit brockvillegym.com or call 613-345-3836.